John Grant RIP

[GloryGlory]

https://twitter.com/HibernianRetro

[The Harp]

So sorry to hear of the passing of John. He was one of my favourite players back in the day and a great servant to the club for many years.

RIP John, sincere condolences to family and friends.

[G B Young]

RIP to a great Hibs servant. My dad watched him play and IIRC later played golf with him.

[ancient hibee]

Played well in a number of different positions including being pushed up to inside right against Hearts when Joe scored four to put them out of the cup. Was an excellent right back and unlucky that Alex Hamilton of Dundee was around at the same time.

[A Hi-Bee]

sad to hear John Grant was a very good servant of the club, RIP

:flag::flag::flag:

[brog]

Admins,could you please merge with the other John Grant thread. Would be nice to get a few more appreciative comments.

[Mick O'Rourke]

Admins,could you please merge with the other John Grant thread. Would be nice to get a few more appreciative comments.
Indeed,Brian

John had been at Hibs for some time when young players like Jimmy O'Rourke and Pat Stanton arrived, circa 1962.
Along with Tommy Preston (another Hibs veteran) John mentored the newcomers.
They looked up to and respected players like John and Tommy

John Grant
Like the aforementioned ,a true Hibernian.

RIP

[Carheenlea]

I’m 50, yet John Grant was still long before my time, but a player I have certainly heard older supporters talk fondly of. To learn more about John’s Hibs career the Historical Trust biography was a great help for us younger fans. Always sad to hear the passing of Hibernian stalwarts.

JOHN GRANT
Position: Defender

Nicknamed 'The Duke', John Grant was a stylish right-back, who served Hibernian with complete dedication for 15 years – earning two Scotland caps in the process.

Debut: Hibernian (2) vs St Mirren (1) - Division One (Old) - 04/12/1954
Appearances: 297
Goals: 2

John Grant was born in Edinburgh in 1931 and began his career with local juvenile side Merchiston Thistle before joining Hibernian in 1949 as an inside right. Like his father, John had been an avid Hibernian supporter as a boy and he rejected the advances of Hearts, Hull City, Rangers, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City to sign for his boyhood club.

Although he showed early promise, he had to wait patiently to make his debut for the first team due to the strength of the Hibs side in the early 1950s. He featured regularly for the club’s ‘B’ team while also completing his national service and a joiner’s apprenticeship.

John made his first-team debut almost five years after signing in a 2-1 victory over St Mirren and quickly gained the reputation as an excellent all-round utility player playing then as a wing-half.

A composed, intelligent reader of play, John got his first-taste of intercontinental football in the European Cup semi-final against Reims in Paris in April 1956.

He and his team-mates were powerless to prevent Reims from winning the first leg 2-0 in the French capital and in the return leg at Easter Road, John was selected to feature in front of a crowd of 49, 941 – a record attendance for a floodlit match. Hibernian, although dominant throughout, went down 1-0 on the night and lost 3-0 on aggregate.

John was soon attracting the interest of rival teams and Hibernian rejected a £1,750 bid from Raith Rovers to sign John and Shaw then converted him into a right-back. He was rarely ever caught out by an opposing winger and his burgeoning reputation as a classy right-back grew and during the 1957/58 season, he was a virtual ever-present in Hibernian’s first team.

John scored his first of two goals for Hibs that season in a 3-2 victory over East Fife and he helped the club reach the 1958 Scottish Cup Final. John then earned a call up for the National Team after impressing at both Hibs and in his Scottish League debut against the Irish League.

Over 10 seasons, John made 297 appearances across all competitions for Hibernian before moving to Raith Rovers in 1964 where he played for a further season before retiring from the game.


National Team: Scotland
International Debut: Wales (0) vs Scotland (3) - British International Championship - 18th October 1958

Under the management of Matt Busby, the one-time guest wing-half who had helped Hibernian to win the Summer Cup in 1941, John made his debut for Scotland in a 3-0 win over Wales. He retained his place in the Scotland squad and he featured in a 2-2 draw against Northern Ireland at Hampden the following month.

https://i.postimg.cc/d0cxFGrs/0-B4-A8-CCA-85-AF-47-FF-9811-0-DF032473006.jpg (https://postimg.cc/CRJNHBcX)


https://i.postimg.cc/k4f1WZZG/81-EFC046-ED8-F-4-C36-B9-AB-738-AB47-EEFFF.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

The Hibs side before the East of Scotland final at Tynecastle in March 1962.
Left to right back row: MacLeod, Easton, Preston, Simpson, McClelland and Fraser.
Front row: Scott, Baker, Grant, Stevenson and Bogie

[Dan Sarf]

Saw him play many times. Tough, intelligent, skilful. A true Hibee great.

RIP